Uganda – The Pearl of Africa Part 5-Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo National Parks

Jul 2, 2024

- Filed Under: Africa | African Safari | Lake Mburo National Park | Queen Elizabeth National Park | Uganda - 10 minute read.

Contents

Uganda, Continued

This is part 5 of my “Uganda- The Pearl of Africa” series, the one where we visit Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo National Parks. Read the first 4 parts here, where we visit Entebbe, Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Mbarara. See pix from our trip here.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in Southwestern Uganda and is one of 10 national parks in that country. It is one of only two places where you can see tree-climbing lions, the other being Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania. Read about my time at Lake Manyara here.

The Drive

Lucas picked us up for the three-hour drive from Mbarara to Queen Elizabeth National Park. It was a beautiful drive, taking us from the idyllic countryside into mountains divided by expansive valleys. We drove through banana groves and villages, and past tea plantations. Larger companies would pay smaller businesses to advertise for them. These advertisements consisted of large, colorful murals painted on the sides of buildings, and the advertisers included “Africell,” Kampala Concrete, and a dry milk factory. The murals, coupled with the vibrant fabrics of locals’ clothing and the spectrum of natural colors of fruit for sale in the markets, made the villages extremely colorful.

Vendors selling fruit, Rolexes, and goat skewers from their pushcarts lined the streets within villages, and there were random piles of trash. Goats and cows grazed in the grass by the road, corralled by their minders and gnawing grass. We sampled the goat, as well as a popular Ugandan snack called “Gonjo,” a type of plantain served grilled, that tasted like an undercooked sweet potato.

Approaching the Park

As we began to ascend, the road deteriorated. As the road became worse, the views became better. We could see Lake Edward at one point, which is a large lake that sits on the border of Uganda with Congo. For a short period of time, it was renamed Lake Idi Amin, but it regained its maiden name after this evil dictator was overthrown. The Kazinga Channel connects Lake Edward to Lake George, which will become important later in this story.

We could see the beginnings of the Virunga Mountains, a volcanic mountain chain, and the Rwenzori Mountains, both bordering the DRC. The latter are also known as the “Mountains of the Moon” for their semilunar shape and were once thought to be the origin of the Nile River. The Albertine Rift, a branch of the East African Rift, runs under these mountain ranges and is part of the Western African Rift Valley. It is complicated, but very basically the Albertine Rift is part of a “divergent tectonic plate boundary,” where the African tectonic plate is splitting in two. You can begin to nerd out about this here.

Game Drive in the Park

Upon arrival, we picked up a park ranger and went out for a late afternoon game drive. The best wildlife viewing tends to be in the early to late morning and early evening, as well as after dark. Animals tend to hunker down during the heat of the day, and many are nocturnal and best seen at night.

Ugandan kobs were plentiful. These are tan-brown colored antelope common in the area and featured on the Ugandan flag, along with the crested crane. The mating habits of the kobs are very interesting. Males of the species arrange themselves in a traditional mating ground called a “lek,” where they display their best features and hang out. Females come by and browse the goods on display, making their choices based on features they think will signify a successful mate.

The “Lek mating system” is great for the females! The term “lek” is derived from a Swedish noun that typically denotes “pleasurable and less rule-bound games and activities.”

Elephants and warthogs were plentiful and provided entertainment for us. A territorial, greedy park ranger on a motorcycle guarded the lion pride, charging a bribe to allow vehicles close to them. This is illegal, but still occurs.

We watched the sunset over the Mountains of the Moon, which was a spectacular light show. As we were about to pull into the gate of our safari camp for the night, we saw a dark shape on the side of the road which started to move. It was a black mamba! We stopped and watched this massive, deadly creature race across the road and disappear into the bush.

Mweya Safari Lodge

If you are visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, I cannot recommend Mweya Safari Lodge strongly enough! On the banks of the Kazinga Channel and surrounded by the Mountains of the Moon, this is your quintessential safari lodge. Dr. Livingstone could only imagine such a place! Nearby is the Uganda Wildlife Authority Information Center where you can learn about the local flora and fauna.

The main lodge had soaring ceilings, expansive windows, and heavy, brown leather and warm wood furnishings. The decor was dominated by elephants- paintings, carvings, and sculptures.

Our “Classic Tent”

After check-in, the porter drove us in a golf cart to our “classic tent” overlooking the Kazinga Channel. It was amazing, much like the safari tents I have stayed at in Tanzania and Botswana- posh, yet slightly rustic. Safari chic. These tents are basically like private villas, but with canvas walls so you can hear all the sounds of Africa.

Situated on top of a hardwood platform, we accessed the tent by a few stairs. It consisted of a bedroom with a king-sized bed surrounded by mosquito netting, a seating area, and a bathroom with two sinks, a huge shower, and a toilet with a bidet. The highlight for me was the massive deck overlooking the water, furnished with a couch, table, and rocking chairs. I enjoyed sitting on that deck, writing in my journal.

Yellow Weaver Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda — Yellow Weaver

The Lodge and Restaurant

We channeled our inner Hemingway and had drinks at the Tembo Bar. We sat by a window, where our night’s entertainment was watching bats swoop in and eat the flying insects that coated the outside of the window. One bat got inside the bar and wreaked havoc, giving us a fright.

Dinner in the restaurant was a culinary experience. This was the best food we had had in Uganda, and it was really good. We had fish and lamb and a decent bottle of wine, not to mention attentive service.

Game Drive

After coffee in the lodge, we headed out for an early morning game drive. We saw a leopard hanging out in a tree and more Ugandan Kobs. Birds were the highlight this morning. We saw “red-necked spurfowl” who exhibited some interesting behavior. They stand on top of termite mounds to get a better vantage point. While standing there, they poop out seeds, which is why bushes and candelabra trees grow on top of termite mounds!

Termite mounds can be gigantic! These tall towers of red dirt can grow to soaring heights. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest one ever was found in the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo) and was 42 feet high! However, while researching for this post, I found that an ancient termite megapolis (as large as Britain) with up to 200 million termite mounds as old as 4000 years was recently found in Brazil. Read about that here.

Black-headed yellow weavers build spherical nests of grass and sticks that hang from trees like Christmas ornaments and sing a beautiful song. After breakfast, a little relaxation, and lunch, we headed to the dock for our boat tour of the Kazinga Channel.

The Three Hour Tour

A Peaceful Boat Ride

We walked down to the pier to board our tour boat, the Hippo, doing our best to ignore the ominous clouds overhead. We made our way to the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward to Lake George. On one side of the channel, grassy hills ended in sheer cliffs which plunged into the water. Candelabra and acacia trees dotted the hills. We saw tons of wildlife, including elephants, Cape buffalo, stork, and of course, crocodiles and hippos. The cliffs were pockmarked by numerous small holes which housed black and yellow kingfishers. The breeze kept us from overheating, and the clouds prevented the sun from blazing down on us.

Until…

The breeze soon became a hurricane! The sky opened up and we were in the middle of a monsoon! Rain was coming into the boat sideways. Now, I am always prepared. I am obsessed with travel raincoats. But this time, I did not bring them! Suddenly, the boat lurched backward- we had beached on Hippo Island!

Everyone moved to the front of the boat, but nothing happened. We all gathered in the center of the lower deck and huddled together against the cold rain. We made fast friends with some ladies from the NIH and other couples. Then, we heard a voice barking commands and noticed that the captain had come down to our deck wearing his life jacket! We did not have life jackets and had not even been given a safety brief! The captain instructed us to help as he unfurled plastic sheets on the sides of the boat to shield us from the wind, but the boat began to list heavily to the side and we quickly rolled the plastic back up for fear of capsizing.

Everyone was panicking. We didn’t know what was going to happen or what to do. Disembarking onto the island was not an option because of the hippos and crocodiles. We could hear the hippos snorting and grunting, and even see them peeking ominously out of the water. Death beckoned and my imagination went wild.

The Rescue

At long last, the crew moved us to the back of the boat and somehow un-beached us. We were all very relieved and looking forward to getting back to safety and warmth. Then, we noticed that we were still staying the course! It was still storming, but we were still headed toward Lake George! Several people complained and the Captain finally turned back… no refunds!

Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda — The Hippo Under Ominous Skies

Kingfishers Kazinga Channel Uganda — The Hippo Under Ominous Skies

The Lion Hunter

We made it back to shore looking and feeling like drowned rats. Moses Tours had set us up with a scientist to track lions, but we wanted to cancel because we were tired and cold. Our driver, Lucas, and the scientist were already waiting for us in a Land Rover, and they did not offer a refund. So, we decided to go ahead with the tour. We were glad we did!

The Lion Hunter was quite a character, with his elegant British accent and keen, piercing gaze. He wore a ratty pink and brown furry jacket and carried what looked like an old-school TV antenna. He stood in the back of the Land Rover with his head and torso sticking out of the top, aiming his antenna in a seemingly random fashion. Vuong and I gave each other wary looks and thought this guy was a fraud and a looney.

A virus had been killing lions in the park, and the scientists needed to figure out a cure. They would shoot the lions with tranquilizer darts and wait for them to pass out. They threw rocks at them to be sure they were asleep, then cautiously approached to place a tracking collar on the animal’s neck. The contraption our scientist carried picked up signals from the tracking collars.